


Where I Belong

by girlwithcateyes



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Little Mermaid AU, M/M, Mermaids, Thvi memaid au, Villain Deceit Sanders, tags will be added as i think of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-06-27 04:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlwithcateyes/pseuds/girlwithcateyes
Summary: Thomas loved his family with all of his heart, but his never truly felt like they understood him. He never felt like he belonged when he was around them. With his infatuation with humanity, and now his crush on a human he was just always different. Virgil always felt like he had a role thrust upon him that he could never fill, that he could never be the ruler his people needed. His only solace in life was meeting with his secret friend. AKA: I wrote a little mermaid AU because I think this’ll be awesome.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I didn't think I'd get this out that quickly but here we are. This is just a prologue, but hopefully I can get the first chapter out soon.

"-that's when I realized that the merman I had swam into was the prince himself. I tried to apologize but he brushed all of them away with a simple 'well it looks like you fell for me'." .

Thomas sat on his bed and looked at his father in awe. His older brother Patton was in a similar position next to him. Neither child wanted to look away and miss the story of how their dad met their papa. 

"And then what happened, daddy?", that was Patton. The 6 year old had a bright smile on his face and his fins swished in anticipation of what his papa was going to say next. 

Emile, the boys' father, smiled as he recounted the story of how he had met his husband, "WelI, I asked His Majesty if there was anything I could do to make it up to him. The prince asked me to join him on his walk. And how was I to refuse a member of the royal family such a simple request. Eventually, we fell in love, got married, a-"

"-and had two spectacular sons", another merman swam up to the trio and gave the former a quick peck on the lips, "Hello, darling". 

"Papa!", Thomas swam forward into his papa's arms. Said merman didn't hesitate to scoop up his son in a hug, spinning around in circles, before stopping, putting Thomas down, and picking up Patton to do the same. 

Roman laughed heartily and set Patton back on the bed before tucking him in before turning to do the same for Thomas, “Are you boys ready for bed?”. 

There was a chorus of ‘Yes Papa’ as Emile and Roman gave both children a kiss goodnight. Thomas smiled as he drifted off to sleep, his life was perfect. 

~

“I’ve got you now”, Emile laughed as he chased Thomas around the reef, before scooping him up into his arms. 

Thomas giggled in unabashed joy as he clung to his father’s shoulders. The giggles turned into shrieks of laughter as the older merman began mercilessly tickling him, “No, Daddy it tickles!!”. 

“Come on, my guppy, let’s go find your papa and Pat.”, the pair began to swim towards a clearing where the others could be seen, when a shadow passed over their heads. Thomas looked up as the water began to darken around them. 

“Daddy, what’s that big thing up there?”

“Hmm?”, Emile looked up, “Well, that’s a ship. It’s how humans get travel around the sea.”. 

“Humans? Like those people you told me and Pat about with the foots?”.

“It’s feet, but yes humans are like us except they don’t have fins. They use ships to travel around when they travel across the water.” 

Thomas was quiet for a moment. He had heard his dad talk about humans before, and he always seems interested in them, but other people were scared of humans. They said that humans were dangerous, and that they needed to stop them. But if his daddy liked humans then they couldn’t be scary, right?

“Are they bad? People say we need to stop them.”

Emile smiled at his little boy. He stopped and looked Thomas in the eye, “There like merpeople. We can be bad, but we’re not all bad.”

“Why do people say we need to stop them.”

“Well they’re afraid of people.”

“Why?”

“Because we’ve both done bad things to each other in the past. But your papa and I want to amend relations between our kingdom and the human kingdom. That way we can all be safe.”, Thomas nodded softly at Emile’s word, seeming to understand, “Come one, I’m sure your papa and Patton are looking for us.”. 

~

Roman sobbed into his hands. The messenger had just left and his news had left the king devastated. He sunk into his throne and tried to collect his thoughts. Emile was only 30, they were still both so young. Just last night they had discussed having another child. And now.. And now he was- Roman couldn’t even think it. 

A chill touched Roman to his core. How was he going to tell his core. Patton would be inconsolable. And Thomas… Roman didn’t even want to think about how his youngest would take the news. 

“Papa?”, The king stilled. Patton swam into the room with Thomas not far behind. Patton was holding his brother’s hand, and Thomas was blinking sleepily at Roman. It was obvious that the pair had just woken up, ‘What’s going on? Why’re you crying?””. Patton’s words only seemed to make Roman’s tears fall faster. He swam forwards and pulled both of his children into a hug.

The action woke Thomas up completely, and he finally seemed aware to the fact that someone was missing from their group hug, “Papa, where’s daddy?”

Roman took a deep breath before speaking, “I need to tell you boys something. Your dad is- he’s gone.”. 

It wasn’t until Patton started to cry that Thomas understood what his papa was saying. His dad was- His papa said he was… Thomas wailed as the meaning of the words began to dawn on him. He was never going to see his dad again. 

Roman held both of his children close and cried. And that’s where the trio stayed for what felt like hours: knelt against Roman’s throne, curled up against each other, crying their hearts out. Roman knew logically that one day they would all be ok again, but, in that moment, it felt like his family would never be ok again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have a new chapter!! I know I just posted the first one but I am going to MIA this week, so I wanted to get it out beforehand. This time we have Virgil POV, also Remy appears in this chapter!! I had some trouble writing this chapter because of Remy honestly, getting that blend of sassy and serious is hard and you have my respect if you can do it.

_ ~10 years later~ _

Virgil looked to the sky and sighed. The stars almost seemed to shine duller in response. His parents had only been dead for a year now, and the council was already pushing him to start courting some lord or lady. They claimed that it would be beneficial once he took the throne upon his 18th birthday, never mind the fact that he didn’t need a partner in order to be the king his people deserved. If he went down as a bad king, that had nothing to do with the fact that he hadn’t had any success trying to court some foreign prince or princess, right?

Or maybe that was just more proof that Virgil would never be a good king. Maybe he was destined to go in history as a terrible king, and this was just more evidence that this was true. After all, the council said that a marriage would be beneficial to him. Their advice had contributed to the success of his parents’ reign. His father had always turned to the council before making any big decisions. 

He had tried to stay hopeful when they suggested that he start looking for potential suitors. He was hopeful every time he was forced to meet another royal. He tried to stay optimistic with every failed conversation, the entire time hoping- praying- that it would work out. He tried not to cry when, without fal, it wouldn’t work out. When he couldn’t connect with them and the person in question left, and Virgil had to wonder if it was his fault; if the continuous failures were the result of something that was fundamen-

“Honey, why on Earth are you hiding away, on your  _ balcony  _ no less?”

Virgil looked up and saw his best friend and advisor standing on the doorway. Of course Remy would look for him after the disaster that was the latest meeting. Virgil was sure that his distress had been practically visible afterwards. He sighed, “Hey Rem.”

Remy merely raised an eyebrow at him. “So are you going to tell me why you are outside moping, even though there is literally being thrown in your honor right now.”, he asked as he sat down next to the prince. 

“You mean a party where I am expected to flirt with royalty and nobility from all of the neighboring kingdoms? I’m sorry if I’m failing at the one thing that everyone wants from me.”

“So that’s what this is about, hmm? What they said is really bugging, huh girl?”

Virgil simply nodded. He could still hear Lord Arlington’s condescending tone,  _ ‘I simply believe that you’ll have a better reign as king with a partner by your side. And it would be better if you were to find one before your coronation.’,.  _ His words had just been proof of Virgil’s failures. That he wasn’t doing what he needed to do in order to be what his kingdom deserved. 

“Well, in my oh so humble opinion, Lord Arlington is an ass. You being a good king has nothing to do. There have been plenty of good rulers who weren’t married upon their coronations. Hell, your own father was king for 5 years before he met your mother.” 

“But what if they’re right? What if this is just proof that I will never make a good king. I don’t want to fail them. I-,” Virgil broke off with a sob, “I promised dad at the funeral that I would be a good ruler, and I don’t want to let him down.”. 

Remy sighed softly and wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders, “For starters, the council may have some good advice, but they need to pull their heads out of their asses when it comes to this. I’m positive that you will find someone for you, and even if you never find love that doesn’t make you a failure. Secondly, you are going to be an amazing king. I can already see it in you. You want to do good by your people so badly already and you won’t even be king for another four years. I promise you that you, Prince Virgil Ashburn, will be the king that Lasteras deserves.”. 

Virgil sniffled before looking at Remy with a soft smile, “Thank you, Remy. At least I know that you’re on my team.”, he leaned into Remy’s embrace and closed his eyes, “So, what now?”. 

“Now I am going to go back inside because it is muggy as hell out here and there is a rocking dude inside who I’ve been eyeing all night. And I will tell the others that you have a slight headache and wished to sleep but didn’t want to disrupt your guests.” Remy said as he stood up. 

Virgil smiled gratefully as his advisor before standing up as well, “Thanks man, it means a lot to me. I’m going to take a walk if you need me.” 

Remy gave his shoulder a final squeeze before heading towards the door, “Hey, I wouldn’t be your advisor if I didn’t know you like the back of my hand. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some nobility to flirt with.”. 

With that Remy went back inside. Virgil sighed softly before turning away from the door. He stared towards the sea before him as he mulled over his best friend’s words. Remy was right; it didn’t matter if he couldn’t find a spouse before his coronation. He could be a great king on his own. 

He gazed softly upon the water. His mother used to tell him stories about the sea and a kingdom of mer-people who resided close to their own kingdom. She would take him to a secluded lagoon and tell them these stories as they sailed in a rowboat. Tonight he thought of those moments, of his parents smiling as they spoke of nothing and everything, as the trio relaxed as if the world didn’t exist beyond that lagoon. 

Virgil smiled at these memories, “ I promise you guys that I’ll be a good king. I’ll you proud. I.. I love you, mom and dad.”, he whispered softly to the night sky. He would go out there tonight; the lagoon was close enough to the castle that he could sneak away for a couple of hours. He would go out there and just sit and enjoy the night, the way he did before his parents died. With that thought, Virgil headed towards the castle ground with a specific destination in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we have it. I’m very happy with how this chapter turned out, and I’m especially happy with the way I wrote Virgil. I will try to have the next chapter out by the weekend and it will be Thomas centered chapter, so stay tuned!! Let me know what you think!!


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here we are with chapter 2! This time we have Thomas’ POV. I’m so glad there’s been so much feedback for this fic so far. Everyone seems to love it so far! Thank you to forever-forgotten-angel on tumblr who helped me write this chapter and to what-in-gaeas-realm on tumblr who beta read this. It means a lot to me. And without further ado, chapter 2.

Thomas loved when he had days to himself. As one of the princes of Atlantis, he had duties to his people (even if, as crown prince, Patton had more). He loved being able to help his kingdom, but there was something so nice about being able to do whatever he pleased. Unfortunately, it was rare that he had a day to himself. Thomas loved being able to sleep in, loved not having to worry about the day’s meetings, and loved being able to just enjoy time to himself.  _ Of course _ , Thomas thought as he came upon the ship,  _ being able to explore was the best part. _

The ship wasn’t as old as some of the other he had explored; it had probably only sunk within the past year. This meant that the trinkets it held would be in better condition than some of the others in his collection. Maybe he’d even find some clothes, he’d heard that human clothes were amazing looking. 

At least that was what his father had told him. The now deceased King of Atlantis had a fascination with humanity that Thomas had inherited. He could still remember Emile telling him bedtime stories about the human kingdom nearest to theirs. And while his older brother had a mild fascination at best, Thomas couldn’t get enough of the tales. His father had recognized their shared interest and had nurtured it. He had his own collection of human items that he would show Thomas, telling him what every item was and what they were for. 

Emile was, Thomas supposed as he looked for a possible entrance to the ship, the reason that he loved to explore sunken ships. Finding items that, at one point, had been used by people helped him feel closer to his father. And that was exactly what Thomas needed after he had passed away all those years ago. 

Thomas pushed those thoughts out of his head as he found a way into the ship. There was a hole on its side that would make a perfect entrance to the ship. He swam through it and was amazed at what he saw. There were artifacts strewn about the entirety of the ship. It was glorious to behold. In the center of the room was a table (Thomas had been shocked when he found out that humans had tables and chairs as well) with a weird piece of cloth covering it haphazardly. Lying next to it were 2 arm length white sticks, Thomas was pretty sure they were called kanidles or something like that. 

He was in the middle of inspecting a sort of mini trident when a flash of light caught his eye. Thomas looked over to a corner of the ship where the flash seemed to come from. There it was! Something was glittering on the bottom of the ship. Thomas swam over and began searching for the source of the light when he found  _ it. _ It was gold and oval in shape. On one side were engravings of wave-like swirls. On the other side the letters  M.A.  were engraved. It was attached to a golden chain. It reminded him of the necklaces that his papa and Patton would wear. 

Thomas picked up the chain and, to his delight, the pendant opened up. On the Inside was a man and woman, a young child on the woman’s lap. It was the first time that Thomas had ever seen what real people looked like. The way that the man in the picture looked at the woman reminded Thomas of his parents. He smiled and put it in a pouch tied around his waist. He decided that it was about time for him to head home. The sooner he got home, the less likely his papa was to question him on where he went today.

With that in mind Thomas began to make his way home. As he swam, his thoughts began to drift towards the necklace, and subsequently to his family. They all changed after Emile had died. Roman had closed himself off. He tried to be there for his children, but he wasn’t as carefree as he used to be. He saw danger around every corner and, most importantly, he became overprotective of his children. Patton grew up to be a mini father in some ways. He began to baby Thomas in some ways. Always following him to keep him safe. Thomas has to leave at sun rise today in order to ensure that Patton wouldn’t be able to follow him. 

Thomas wasn’t sure how he fit into this, or if he fit in at all. He found himself disagreeing with his papa more and more, unable to see the dangers of the world that he saw. He did everything he could to have alone time, to not have Patton next to him for 2 seconds. It felt like he didn’t belong. That, while Patton and Roman knew their places in the kingdoms, Thomas just couldn’t figure out his place. The only place that he felt that he could be himself was when he explored old ships. 

Thomas pushed these thoughts as the palace came into view. He swam up to the entrance to his bedroom and entered quietly. Making sure to check he was alone, Thomas pulled back a curtain to reveal a hidden cubby. Inside the cubby was a collection of human trinkets. Most of them had belonged to his father when he was still alive, but some of them were items that he had found himself. Thomas put the necklace on one of the shelves before shutting the curtain and swimming down to the lower levels. 

Upon hearing voices coming from Roman’s office, Thomas decided to see what the commotion was about. He swam into the room and saw Roman hunched over his desk. His Red and gold tailed swished fervently as he wrote onto a scroll. On one side of him was Patton and his advisor Logan. On the other side of Roman stood Logan’s father Alastair. 

“Thomas!”, Roman looked up and spotted his youngest son in the doorway, “Come here! I just passed a new law that will keep our citizens so much safer.”. 

Thomas swam further into the room and positioned himself in front of his papa’s desk. “What is it?”, he asked softly. 

Roman straightened up and began to read from the scroll, “His Majesty, King Roman Philip Sanders, hereby proclaims that no merson of the kingdom of Atlantis shall be found exploring the coral reefs witho-”

“You can’t ban mer-people from going to the reefs!”, Thomas felt anger rise in him at Roman’s words. He couldn’t do this. 

“And why not?”, Roman looked at him expectantly. 

“Because dad loved going to those reefs. You know that! We would all go on picnics there!”

“Thomas, those reefs are dangerous. I know your father loved going to the reefs, but I can’t risk my subjects getting hurt there. Making the reefs off limits will greatly reduce our chance of being spotted by humans-”

“So that’s what this is about!”, Of course this was about humans. Ever since Emile had died Roman had passed a litany of laws meant to keep mer-people away from humans. He had begun to believe that humans were dangerous and a threat to the kingdom, “You just want another anti-human law! Why?! Dad loved humans and-”

“Have you ever considered that it was Emile’s love of humans that got him killed?!! He would want me to keep you safe and that’s what I’m trying to do!”

Thomas stumbled back in shock at his papa’s words. How could he think that his father would want this, “That’s not true and you know it. Dad loved learning about people and he loved those reefs. He would hate this and you’re just spitting on his memory with this law.”. With that, Thomas turned and swam away, ignoring Roman’s please for him to come back. He needed to clear his head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go people! I’m very happy with how this chapter turned out! Tell me what you think and send me a message if you want to be added to the taglist. I’m also taking prompts for this ‘verse if anyone is interested.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys all like this I'm supper excited to see where this goes.


End file.
